Am I allowed to miss work due to my pregnancy? Can my boss fire me for missing too much?

11 Apr 2019

After receiving the news of a pregnancy, one of the mother’s first thoughts may be how to take time off work. Employers often do not appreciate too many days missed because of a medical condition. In serious situations, an employer may terminate an employee who has taken too many days off work.

Fortunately, both federal law and California law allow employees to take time off from work in certain situations. In those cases, the employer must allow the employee to return to work. The federal law that gives time off work is the Family and Medical Leave Act. The California law is called the California Family Rights Act. The laws are very similar but do have some differences. They only apply to covered employers, which generally means employers who have 50 or more employees.

Under both laws, eligible employees can take up to 12 weeks of paid or unpaid leave during a 12-month period for certain reasons, of one which is the birth or adoption or foster care placement of a child. In order to be eligible for that leave, the employee must have been employed by the employer for at least 12 months on the date the leave is set to start and must have worked at least 1,250 hours during the previous 12-month period. The rules apply to both fathers and mothers. The employees who take leave are also allowed to retain their benefits, although if they are required to pay for the benefits they must continue to do so.

If you believe that your employer is violating the law on maternity leave in Los Angeles, you should speak with a Los Angeles employment attorney. Call me, Conal Doyle, at 310-385-0567. I can help. Call today to learn more or to schedule a free consultation on your case.